According to him an ideal market should include small producer and consumer, which would reduce the chance of infringing the liberty of others. Much different from Smith’s ideas, Immanuel Kant, one of the most eminent philosophers provided another interpretation of equality. With his ethical orientation, Kant states that individuals should be treated as ends in themselves and not valued as means to other ends.
Karl Marx drew the attention of intelligentsia towards the causes and significance of economic inequalities and maintained that the economic inequalities are the major determinants of the political equality. Marx was the first person who rejected the liberals’ assumptions that political inequality is independent of economic inequality. However, in analysis of economic inequality he was unconcerned about differences within the class of the owners of means of production and the class of workers. Marx’s concentration was more on inequality with respect to distribution of means of production rather than skills, income or wages. Subsequently, from the perspective of capitalism, thinkers such as Hayek and Friedman advocated the creation of equality of opportunity among the masses. They were looking at the ways of promoting competition to the advantage of society. They prioritized political equality over economic equality in terms of providing equal rights and capacities to participate in political processes. Although India is not uninfluenced by postmodern thinking and that the concept of equality seems to be almost a protean entity, Indian efforts to create equality are more political than economic. They are based more on the concept of equal outcome rather than equal opportunity. According to equal outcome concept fair share for all is more important than the equality of opportunities. To quote Cooray (2011):
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Equality of outcome is a radically different concept. Equality of opportunity provides in a sense that all start the race of life at the same time. Equality of outcome attempts to ensure that everyone finishes at the same time. To slightly change what the Dodo said in Alice in Wonderland, "Everybody must win and all must have prizes". That is the goal of radical socialism. Everyone must be a winner, everyone must be equal. Socialists do not really point towards absolute equality but they point to vague ideas of fairness and justness.
This concept differs radically from the idea of equality of opportunity. Equality of opportunity provides scope for freedom and is, in fact, complementary to freedom. On the other hand, government measures to achieve "fair shares for all" reduce equality. Government attempts to promote equality by positive action and discrimination have many undesirable consequences. Three consequences may be noted. |
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